Eyre of strong expectation

TREND: There has been an upward trend in SACE completion numbers at Edward John Eyre High School in the past few years, one deputy principal David Marino is hoping to see continue.

More Edward John Eyre High School students are knuckling down to finish their SACE than ever before with the school recording a 95 per cent completion rate last year.

This included 38 more students to achieve their SACE than in the year before.

It is part of an upward trend in SACE completion numbers at the campus in the past few years, one that deputy principal David Marino is hoping to see continue.

“Teachers are tailoring learning for all students and ensuring curriculum planning caters for their needs. They have a range of flexibilities within SACE to personalise their learning.” he said.

“There is a strong commitment from staff to put in lots of effort and provide continual support for students to be successful.”

The school’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs, run in partnership with TAFE SA and UniSA, help students immerse themselves in their chosen career and gain credits towards their SACE.

“The inclusion of VET courses as part of individual study programs has contributed significantly to students’ success for SACE completion and gaining an ATAR,” Mr Marino said.

“More than 76 per cent of our Stage 2 students undertook VET as part of their SACE studies in 2017, more than 10 per cent above the previous year.”

Some students received university offers for their first preference, including: Journalism, Nursing, Media, Psychology, Teaching, Forensic Science, Criminology, Social Work, Architecture, Commerce, Health Sciences, Space Science and Astrophysics and Sport, Health and Physical Education.

Study groups, tutoring sessions and holiday mentoring also played an important part in ensuring more students completed their SACE.

“Intervention is provided for every student to monitor their performance weekly, identify strategies for improvement and ensure these are working,” he said.

“Another area which is contributing to students’ success is studying Stage 2 subjects in Year 11, including the Research Project and Workplace Practices”.

A merit (A+) was achieved by a Year 11 student in Stage 2 Workplace Practices. This strategy is helping students to increase their ATAR score.

The school achieved significant outcomes in other areas too including the Standard of Educational Achievement which was at 98.4 per cent – the highest on record.

“That is a reflection of listening to students and counselling them into the subject pathways they are interested in. We help them find what they want to do when they leave school,” Mr Marino said.

He said the latest results proved there was a culture of success at the school.